- Hardcover: 96 pages
- Publisher: British Museum Press (24 Nov 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0714111716
- ISBN-13: 978-0714111711
- Product Dimensions: 18.5 x 15.7 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
226,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #32 in Books > History > Ancient History & Civilisation > Middle East
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Product Description
Product Description
A strikingly-illustrated short introduction to Babylon, a powerful and sophisticated ancient city and the home of the fabled Hanging Gardens of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Over the centuries Babylon was lost to view, and survived only in a rich and bizarre set of half-fantastical stories and traditions, until painstaking archaeological work uncovered the real city once more. The city of Babylon flourished for nearly 2,000 years on the River Euphrates in what is now central Iraq. After its conquest by the Persians in 539 BC it slowly faded from prominence and over time was lost from the historical record almost completely. One of the greatest cities of the ancient world lived on only in popular belief and legend. Amalgamating fact and fantasy, stories about the city and the kings of Babylon survived through the Middle Ages into modern times and were the inspiration for many pieces of art and literature in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Tower of Babel the Madness of Nebuchadnezzar the Writing on the Wall the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Daniel in the Lions Den - such stories and images grew famous over the years, while the city itself became little more than a name. However, the real city and its kings have re-emerged into the light thanks to the endeavours of many scholars and archaeologists in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today we can visualise a splendid city of massive walls (once counted among the Seven Wonders of the World), towering pyramid-shaped temples, vast royal palaces and gardens, and monumental gateways. Festivals and processions dedicated to the gods passed along streets lined with colourful glazed-brick reliefs of lions and mythical beasts. The glory of Babylon was expressed not only in physical buildings but also in the learning and scholarship of the city. Babylonian achievements in mathematics, astronomy and medicine had far-reaching effects on the Classical world and even on our own times we get our sixty-minute hours from Babylonia. This city of real wonders is brought back to life in these colourful pages.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
THE PERFECT BOOK FOR GCSE CLASSICS. If you want to pass your GCSE classics with an A, even A*, you need to read this book. it is complete! There is nothing missing with all the relevant information and perfect deductions and inductions from the writer.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This slim volume about the history of ancient Babylon is published by the British Museum Press. It is written by Irving Finkel and Michael Seymour, both of whom work for the British Museum.
The authors have edited a more comprehensive volume entitled Babylon: Myth and Reality, which is also published by the British Museum Press.
Both books were published to coincide with a special exhibition about Babylon at the British Museum, arranged by the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The book under review here (the slim volume) is a lovely little book: less than 100 pages, small size (16 x 18 cm) and in hard cover. It is meant to be a brief introduction to the history of ancient Babylon, and as such it works well.
The text is clear and concise. It is divided into eight short chapters, plus a preface and an introduction. At the end of the book there is a list with illustration acknowledgments.
The illustrations are numerous and useful. Most of them are in colour. For obvious reasons the scale is rather small, but they still work well.
There is much to like here, but I have to mention a few things that bother me.
(a) There is one unfortunate mistake. Perhaps it is just a silly misunderstanding. On page 38 the authors mention the temple tower of Babylon:
"Its size is known to have been 91 square metres at the base, with a height probably well over 70 metres."
If the base is 91 square metres, it means that each side of the tower is 9.5 metres.
9.5 x 9.5 = 91
What they want to say is that the base was 91 metres per side.
91 x 91 = 8,281 square metres
The caption on page 45 refers to a picture on page 44:
"A school drawing shows a ziggurat in elevation. Its base is given as only 21 metres per side..."
This is the phrase they should have used on page 38.
I have told the authors about this unfortunate mistake. I hope it can be corrected, if there is a second edition of the book.
(b) I am sorry there is no bibliography. I know how the authors will respond. They will refer me to the more comprehensive volume: Babylon: Myth and Reality. So perhaps I can live without a bibliography.
(c) I am sorry there is no index. In this case the authors cannot refer me to another book. Why not include an index? These days it is so easy to make one. The computer can do it for you.
(d) The focus is on King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled for more than forty years, from 605 to 562 BC. This is OK. But what about King Hammurabi (sometimes spelled Hammurapi), who is famous for his code of laws? He is mentioned in the introduction on page 10, but after this he disappears. Why mention him and then let him go? Why could they not give us a few pages about him?
As a brief introduction to the history of ancient Babylon this slim volume works well. But for reasons explained above I can only give it four out of five stars.
PS 1: The University of California Press has published a useful dictionary about ancient Mesopotamia, which covers the Assyrians, the Sumerians, and the Babylonians: Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians (Dictionaries of Civilizations)
PS 2: The Italian publisher White Star has published a beautiful picture book about the Assyrians and the Babylonians. It is written by Alfredo Rizza: The Assyrians and the Babylonians (History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization)
The authors have edited a more comprehensive volume entitled Babylon: Myth and Reality, which is also published by the British Museum Press.
Both books were published to coincide with a special exhibition about Babylon at the British Museum, arranged by the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The book under review here (the slim volume) is a lovely little book: less than 100 pages, small size (16 x 18 cm) and in hard cover. It is meant to be a brief introduction to the history of ancient Babylon, and as such it works well.
The text is clear and concise. It is divided into eight short chapters, plus a preface and an introduction. At the end of the book there is a list with illustration acknowledgments.
The illustrations are numerous and useful. Most of them are in colour. For obvious reasons the scale is rather small, but they still work well.
There is much to like here, but I have to mention a few things that bother me.
(a) There is one unfortunate mistake. Perhaps it is just a silly misunderstanding. On page 38 the authors mention the temple tower of Babylon:
"Its size is known to have been 91 square metres at the base, with a height probably well over 70 metres."
If the base is 91 square metres, it means that each side of the tower is 9.5 metres.
9.5 x 9.5 = 91
What they want to say is that the base was 91 metres per side.
91 x 91 = 8,281 square metres
The caption on page 45 refers to a picture on page 44:
"A school drawing shows a ziggurat in elevation. Its base is given as only 21 metres per side..."
This is the phrase they should have used on page 38.
I have told the authors about this unfortunate mistake. I hope it can be corrected, if there is a second edition of the book.
(b) I am sorry there is no bibliography. I know how the authors will respond. They will refer me to the more comprehensive volume: Babylon: Myth and Reality. So perhaps I can live without a bibliography.
(c) I am sorry there is no index. In this case the authors cannot refer me to another book. Why not include an index? These days it is so easy to make one. The computer can do it for you.
(d) The focus is on King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled for more than forty years, from 605 to 562 BC. This is OK. But what about King Hammurabi (sometimes spelled Hammurapi), who is famous for his code of laws? He is mentioned in the introduction on page 10, but after this he disappears. Why mention him and then let him go? Why could they not give us a few pages about him?
As a brief introduction to the history of ancient Babylon this slim volume works well. But for reasons explained above I can only give it four out of five stars.
PS 1: The University of California Press has published a useful dictionary about ancient Mesopotamia, which covers the Assyrians, the Sumerians, and the Babylonians: Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians (Dictionaries of Civilizations)
PS 2: The Italian publisher White Star has published a beautiful picture book about the Assyrians and the Babylonians. It is written by Alfredo Rizza: The Assyrians and the Babylonians (History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization)
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